VW BROWN INSURANCE SERVICE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Account Manager
Job Titles:
- Personal Claims Processor
Andrea Burch has over 10 years' experience in receiving and processing insurance claims. Joining the VW Brown staff in June of 2015, Andrea is currently our Personal Lines Claims Processor. She is the first point of contact for the insured customers to begin the process of financial recovery for the insured damages, from the insurance company. Andrea takes pride in providing our clients with the utmost customer satisfaction. Working within the guidelines of the company, Andrea always strives to determine the accuracy of the information provided in the claim and making sure our clients' needs are taken cared of at all times.
Andrea attended Bluegrass Community College and Technical College in Lexington, KY. She currently holds a Property & Casualty License (P&C).
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Producer
Andrew Duff recently entered into the insurance industry in the spring of 2018. Joining the VW Brown team as a Commercial Lines Producer, he has begun working to build a solid foundation of knowledge about the business, as well as a solid foundation of business clients. Andrew's strengths come from a background in the customer service industry.
Andrew received his BS in Business Administration from Shepherd University. He currently holds a Property & Casualty License (P&C).
Our President, Angela K. Ripley, is a part of the National Association of Registered Agents & Brokers Board in Washington, D.C. She was appointed in 2016 by President Barack Obama.
Angela L. Ripley has more than 30 years of experience as a licensed property and casualty, life and health insurance agent and currently serves as President of VW Brown Insurance Service. Angela joined VW Brown in 2000, after previously working for Erie Insurance Group in her latest position as Senior District Sales Manager.
At VW Brown, Angela is responsible for managing the agency's carrier relationships, production initiatives, agency acquisitions, as well as a producer, working with the Commercial Department.
As President, Angela has served on several agency advisory boards and was appointed by President Obama to serve on the NARAB (National Association of Registered Agents & Brokers) Board. She is also an active member of the Big I of Maryland (Independent Insurance Agents of Maryland). Angela served as Chairman of Big I Maryland in 2014 and then was appointed as the National Director representing Maryland on the National Board. Furthering her dedication to the independent agency system she successfully ran for the Director At-Large position on Executive Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America in 2020 where she currently serves in that role.
Angela received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration / Marketing and Advertising from Frostburg State University in 1994. She officially became a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) in 1999, Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) in 2004, Associate in Insurance Services (AIS) in 2009, and Certified Risk Manager (CRM) in 2012.
Angela is married to Graydon, lives in Severna Park, Maryland along with their two daughters Emma and Madelyn. She enjoys everything women's lacrosse with her girls, spoiling their two Jack Russell terriers and traveling the country.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Account Manager
Job Titles:
- Commercial Marketing Representative
Chris Hulver has worked for VW Brown for 14 years. He provides internal sales support for our commercial division; working as a liaison between our markets and producers to provide competitive and comprehensive solutions for our client's insurance needs.
Chris received his BS in Finance from the University Of Maryland University College. Chris currently holds a Property and Casualty License (P&C), a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR), and a Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designation.
Job Titles:
- Personal Lines Account Executive
Christine (Christy) Bratz has 14 years of personal lines experience as she started her insurance career as a direct writer and currently works at VW Brown as Account Executive. Christy takes pride in helping the insureds with their needs and issues on a day to day basis.
Christy attended Montgomery College and A Paul Mitchell Partner School, graduating with a Cosmetology License. She currently holds a P&C License (P&C).
Ed Geisler works in our Commercial Department and has over 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. Before transferring over to the commercial side, Ed worked in the Personal Lines Department handling life insurance, disability, long-term care, and mutual funds. He currently specializes in Commercial Coverage for property and businesses of all types in the Northern VA Region, focusing on wholesale distributors, the food service industry, builders/contractors, and Information Technology.
Ed received a BA from Furman University in Greenville, SC. He currently holds a Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) designation.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Account Manager
Job Titles:
- Personal Lines New Business Account Executive
Eric Kane has worked in the insurance industry for over 10 years. He worked as a State Farm agent for close to 10 years and specialized in both personal lines and financial services. Eric also has experience as an employee benefits broker, working with small group businesses to provide group health/life/disability. He prides himself in building lasting relationships with clients and helping them to achieve their goals. Eric is licensed in both property and casualty and life and health.
Erin Bowley is an insurance business professional who has over 17 years of experience in the industry. Joining our agency in 2002, she is currently our Personal Account Executive. Erin is an expert at building professional relationships to ensure the needs of the clients.
Erin currently holds a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation.
Job Titles:
- Quality Agent Award / ERIE Insurance Group
Job Titles:
- Personal Lines Account Executive
Fern Herald has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. She strives to build professional relationships with clients and ensure their needs are met.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Producer
Job Titles:
- Group Health Insurance Specialist
Joe Baum is an insurance business professional with over 25 years of experience. As the Group Insurance Specialist, Joe assists many clients with the day to day management of their employee benefits program and work very closely with all of his carriers in order to place the best value program to all of his groups.
Joe received a BS in Institutional Administration from the University of Maryland.
Julie Williams has worked in the insurance industry for over 25 years. Upon working primarily in the Personal Lines Division, Julie joined VW Brown when the agency she worked for merged. She enjoys a solid work relationship with insurance carriers, which enhances her ability to service the VW Brown clients with their insurance needs.
Julie attended Luzerne County Community College and Reading Hospital School of Nursing. She currently holds a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation.
Job Titles:
- Customer Service. As an Account Manager Assistant
Kelly Burns has a passion for insurance and customer service. As an Account Manager Assistant, she processes documents, expedites certificates, makes changes to policies, helps with billing questions, and handles customer service.
Kelly graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland, with a BA in Psychology and Art. She currently holds a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) and a Certified Insurance Service Representative Elite (CISR Elite) designation.
Job Titles:
- Individual Health Specialist
- Individual Insurance Specialist
Kelly Mitchell is the Individual Insurance Specialist at VW Brown for the past 8 years. She specializes in providing clients with competitive quotes on health insurance from various insurance carriers. She also assists with the agency's group health and life insurance departments.
Kelly currently holds a Maryland Life and Health License.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Account Manager
Kim Kersting has over 16 years of experience in the insurance industry. She currently specializes in mostly small to medium sized accounts. Kim has experience with all lines of Commercial insurance, property, liability, workers compensation, vehicles, bonds, professional liability, and special coverages. Kim received her BS in Elementary Education from Shippensburg University.
Kim currently holds a Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS), Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR), and Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI) designation.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Account Manager Assistant
Kristin Scheidt has 14 years of experience in the insurance industry and specializes in Small Commercial Business needs. She is responsible for handling certifications, endorsements, renewals, claims and client follow up.
Amanda (Mandy) James started her career in insurance in 1988, joining the VW Brown team in 2003. With over 27 years of experience, Mandy utilizes her extensive knowledge of the insurance industry and welcomes the challenge of solving complex insurance issues.
Mandy holds a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) and a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation.
Marc A. Bruno has more than 17 years of experience in the insurance business and currently serves the Executive Vice President of VW Brown Insurance Service. Prior to starting in the insurance industry, Mr. Bruno spent 10 years as a business process improvement analyst, working as a consultant with fortune 100 companies, such as BASF and Anheuser Busch. As a business analyst, he was responsible for establishing complete company-wide turnaround programs in the areas of manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, sales & marketing, accounting, and human resources. In 2001, Mr. Bruno began his career in the insurance industry as an independent agent, following several consulting projects in the industry. After a brief stay on the agency side, Marc went to work on the company side with Liberty Mutual Insurance in their Agency Markets Division. As a Regional Territory Manager for Montgomery Insurance in Northern Virginia, Marc was responsible for revitalizing an area that had been neglected for many years. In 2007, Mr. Bruno, in conjunction with the ownership team of VW Brown Insurance Service, was instrumental in the engineering of the acquisition of Inner Harbour Insurance for VW Brown Insurance Service. Mr. Bruno joined the agency as a partner of the newly formed entity VW Brown Insurance LLC, following the completion of the acquisition. Since 2007, VW Brown Insurance Service has acquired four additional agencies and grown to more than 50 million dollars in premium. VW Brown Insurance Service has a staff of more than 42 licensed agents in 5 locations, writing insurance in 48 states, with many of the most respected insurance carriers in the US.
Marc has a BA in Communications from West Virginia University, and currently, holds a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and a Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designation.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Senior Account Manager
Mary Beth Pizzi has over 30 years of experience in the Commercial Insurance Department. She works with a wide range of clients and industries specializing in providing Property, Casualty and Management solutions for any size business.
Mary Beth currently holds a Property & Casualty License (P&C).
Job Titles:
- Commercial Claims Processor
Mary Schaus has over 17 years of experience in administrating/managing Life and Health Benefits and assisting up to 2000 employees with their claim and benefits issues. She has an extensive background working in Human Resources and several years of experience assisting with Worker's Compensation claims. Mary joined VW Brown in July of 2015 as a Commercial Claims Processor. Her role is vital, as she works diligently to receive claims, collecting the required information, feeding the data into the company's system and even analyzing the fitness of the claim, and placing them in the hands of an adjuster, who then assesses all the information and makes the final decision with the particular client. Mary looks forward to continued growth and knowledge with VW Brown. She wants to pursue accredited designations to further her contributions to VW Brown and her work colleagues.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Marketing Representative
Mike Hayes began his insurance career with State Farm Insurance working in the Auto Claims Department. He then moved his career path with an independent agency and spent 11 years working in the Marketing Commercial Department. Mike supervised carrier production meetings and goals. In June of 2015, Mike came aboard the staff of VW Brown as a Commercial Marketer.
Mike graduated from Mount St. Mary's University with a BS in Business.
Job Titles:
- Personal Lines Account Executive
Peggy Friesen, with over 26 years of experience in the insurance industry, specializes in assisting with the production of new accounts and the retention of existing accounts. Peggy came aboard VW Brown in 2008 and currently works as a Personal Account Manager.
Peggy attended Howard Community College and currently holds an Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designation.
Ray Boland has more than 35 years of establishing and cultivating trusted relationships with clients in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. He works with a wide range of clients from start-up organizations to well-established businesses to provide comprehensive solutions to their insurance needs.
Ray received a BA in Biology from the University of Virginia and a MBA from George Washington University. He holds a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Lines Producer
Scot Duff has been in the insurance industry for 20 years as a successful Commercial Insurance Producer, starting with The Liberty Mutual Group. Scot joined VW Brown in the fall of 2011. He has built a solid foundation of business clients through his tenure at VW Brown. Scot's strength is connecting with people's needs from small companies to large.
Scot received a BS degree from Frostburg State University.
Tanya Buffington is an insurance business professional who has over 15 years of experience in the industry. She joined our agency in October of 2013 and is currently our New Business Account Manager. Tanya strives to build lasting relationships with clients she works with and her core values include honesty and integrity. She takes an innovative approach working with potential clients to develop, customize and secure a personal insurance program to best fit their families' individual needs and lifestyle.
Tanya currently holds an accredited Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation.
Tricia L. Wolters has over 19 years of experience in the insurance business, brings a strong operation and financial management background to her current role as Chief Financial Officer at VW Brown Insurance Service. As CFO, Tricia's customer motivated philosophy in collaboration with the executive team, has set strategic visions and goals to achieve significant agency growth. As the leading multi-location for independent insurance agencies in the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan area, Tricia played a crucial role as she spearheaded 5 agency acquisitions over the course of the last 10 years, resulting in more than 50 million dollars in premium. The VW Brown staff currently consists 42 licensed insurance professionals in 5 locations, with a combined experience of over 620 years in the insurance industry, writing in 48 states. More than half of the staff holds at least one specialized insurance designation.
Tricia received her BS in Business Management from Carson Newman College in 1998. She currently holds a Property & Casualty License (P & C).
Vanessa Zynn has been with our agency for over 25 years. Vanessa specializes in accounting, servicing of mortgage change requests, claims and other various duties as may be required to support office operations.
Vanessa currently holds an Associate In Insurance Services (AIS) designation.